Process for recovering organic components from liquid streams

ABSTRACT

A separation process for recovering organic components from liquid streams. The process is a combination of pervaporation and decantation. In cases where the liquid stream contains the organic to be separated in dissolved form, the pervaporation step is used to concentrate the organic to a point above the solubility limit, so that a two-phase permeate is formed and then decanted. In cases where the liquid stream is a two-phase mixture, the decantation step is performed first, to remove the organic product phase, and the residue from the decanter is then treated by pervaporation. Embodiments using two decanters, particularly suited to handling feed streams containing multiple organic compounds of different properties, are included.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/718,795, filed Jun. 21, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,533, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 359,739, filed May 31, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,356. The contents of both parent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a separation process for removing and recovering organic components present in industrial process or waste streams. More particularly, the invention relates to a hybrid separation process incorporating both a pervaporation stage and a decantation stage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Separation of liquid mixtures

By far the cheapest and simplest method of separating liquid dispersions or mixtures under most circumstances is decantation. For decantation to be effective, however, the concentration of the minor phase should be relatively high, and the dispersed phase should be present in the form of relatively large droplets. Also, decanters can typically achieve only a gross separation between phases. Even when an optimum phase separation is achieved, the dispersed phase may be slightly soluble in the continuous phase, so that a total separation of the two components is not possible. Therefore, it is frequently necessary to subject the residue from the decanter to some form of secondary separation process. Where large volumes of liquid are to be treated, the space required for the decanter vessels may be a problem. Thus, to take advantage of the cheap, simple aspects of decantation as a separation process requires:

1. A relatively concentrated mixture,

2. A relatively small feed volume, if possible, and

3. A second polishing step for optimum separation.

2. Treatment of streams containing dissolved organics

Contamination of industrial effluent waters with dissolved organic solvents, such as methanol, ethanol, methyl ethyl ketone, phenol, benzene, toluene, and trichloroethane, is an important environmental problem. These solvents make water unfit for reuse or direct discharge to municipal sewers, and are difficult to remove, even at low concentrations. Commonly used methods for removing volatile organic compounds include air stripping, biological treatment, carbon adsorption and incineration. Air stripping, in which water is circulated against a current of air in a contacting tower, is the least expensive process. However, air stripping merely exchanges water pollution for air pollution. Air stripping is therefore seldom used if the solvent concentration exceeds 0.1%, and even then only for small streams where the total organic emission is less than 10-100 lb/day. Carbon adsorption, a principal effluent treatment technology, can only be used efficiently for very dilute streams, typically 1,000 ppm or less, and more usually 100 ppm or less. At these very low concentrations, carbon adsorption is a preferred technique, because the size of the plant scales in proportion to the amount of solvent removed. Thus, when the solvent concentration is very low, the amount of wastewater that can be treated by a small carbon adsorption system is high. However, once the feed solution concentration exceeds 1,000 ppm, carbon adsorption systems become very large per gallon of wastewater treated. Also, carbon adsorption systems cannot handle some chlorinated and fluorinated solvents, and generate secondary waste, in the form of spent contaminated carbon that may be sent to landfills. Biological treatment systems work well only for organics that can be fully metabolized by the biomass, and where the process is not compromised by high or fluctuating solvent concentrations. At the high concentration end of the scale, incineration is reliable and effective for very concentrated streams, where the heat value of the solvent reduces the amount of supplemental fuel required. Typically, incineration is impossibly expensive at concentrations below 5%.

Thus, there is a dissolved organic concentration range for which no conventional wastewater treatment method is really suited. Currently this range is avoided by pooling or diluting the waste to the point where it can be treated by carbon adsorption or biological processes, or concentrating it so that incineration can be used. There remains a real and long-felt need for a low-cost method for directly treating contaminated streams, with an organic content of about 0.1% up to about 5 or 10%, to produce an effluent suitable for direct discharge or biological treatment, and a low-volume concentrated stream containing the bulk of the dissolved organics, from which the organic component can be recovered. Likewise, there is a need for efficient methods of separating organic/organic process streams or wastes, particularly where the two organics form an azeotrope or a closely-boiling mixture.

Pervaporation is a relatively new separation technology that is beginning to achieve commercial success. The pervaporation process itself has been known since the 1950s, and is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,913,507 and 2,953,502 to Binning et al. Organic-selective pervaporation is described in a general way in U.S. Pat. No. 4,218,312 to Perry. Despite the theoretical knowledge embodied in these patents, many years elapsed before commercially viable pervaporation systems could be contemplated, because the technology to make high performance membranes and modules had not been developed. In recent years, a West German company, GFT GmbH, has been selling pervaporation units with water-selective membranes to remove small amounts of dissolved water from solvents. Membrane Technology & Research, Inc, now offers systems with organic-selective membranes for a variety of application. Work on organic/organic separations by pervaporation is ongoing in several institutions.

Copending patent application Ser. No. 07/359,739, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,356 describes and claims processes in which the feed stream contains at least two components, the first being an organic compound, the second being water, or both compounds being organic. The above-identified patent claims treatment processes where a pervaporation step is followed by a decantation step. Pervaporation is applicable to streams containing more than one organic compound. Common and particularly troublesome industrial waste streams are aqueous streams containing mixtures of hydrophobic and/or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly halogenated hydrocarbons or aromatic hydrocarbons, with water miscible, less volatile (hydrophilic) solvents. The presence of a chlorinated solvent or other priority pollutant makes solvent reclamation very difficult and the entire stream must often be treated as a hazardous waste and sent to incinerators fitted with appropriate scrubbers for disposal. In many cases, the hydrophobic compound is present in the waste in quantities greater than can be dissolved. A process that could separate the more hazardous components from the other organics as a low-volume, high-concentration stream would be advantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a separation process involving both pervaporation and decantation. This combination of processes can treat aqueous streams containing dissolved organic chemicals, to produce an effluent stream clean enough for direct discharge, and a product stream containing essentially pure organic. The pervaporation step is used to produce a permeate stream sufficiently concentrated in organic for treatment by decantation, and an organic-depleted residue stream for discharge. The decantation step is used to produce a high-purity organic phase, suitable for reuse, and an aqueous phase, typically saturated with organic, that can be recycled to the inlet of the pervaporation unit. In this way, both the concentration and the polishing requirements associated with decantation are achieved by a single, simple process. The invention enables wastewater streams polluted with organic contaminants to be treated economically and effectively with no secondary pollution problems. The only products from the hybrid process are a water residue clean enough for direct discharge and a high-purity organic stream for reuse in the process generating the waste. In many cases, the value of the recovered organic will partially or fully offset the cost of the separation process. Thus, economic as well as environmental motivation to comply with pollution control standards can be provided.

The process of the invention could also be used to separate organic streams containing two organic components of different volatilities and densities, or streams in which water is to be separated from an organic liquid. For simplicity of discussion, the general and detailed descriptions that follow concern removal of organic materials from water. However, the invention should be construed as pertaining equally to removal of one organic from another, or of water from an organic stream. The process of the invention involves running a liquid feedstream, containing one or more organic components, through a membrane pervaporation system incorporating membranes that are selectively permeable to an organic component of the feedstream. The permeating vapor, which is enriched in the preferentially permeating organic compared with the feed, is condensed and then decanted. The more dense and less dense phases are retrieved separately. The pervaporation system may contain one or more membrane modules. The system may be a simple system, in which the feed passes through one module, or a parallel array of modules, to produce an organic-depleted residue and a permeate for decanting. Other possible arrangements include multistage or multistep systems. In a multistage system, the permeate from one stage becomes the feed for the next. Each stage may contain one or more modules, and the modules in one stage may or may not be the same as those in another. Typically, a much smaller membrane area is required in the second stage than in the first, because the volume of liquid to be treated is much smaller. Multistage systems are appropriate where a single stage would produce an inadequately concentrated permeate. In a multistep system, the residue from the first step becomes the feed for the second. The modules used in the second step may or may not be the same as those in the first. Multistep systems are typically used where a very high percentage of organic removal from the feed is desired. Systems can, of course, incorporate both multiple stages and multiple steps.

The permeate vapor may also be condensed in one or multiple condensers. If more than one condenser is used before the decanter, they may be operated at different temperatures to produce fractions with varying organic concentrations. The system design will be tailored to take account of the concentration and solubility of the organic component in the feed, the degree of removal required, and the desired permeate concentration for decantation.

The process of the invention may also be carried out by performing the decantation step first, then treating the phase containing the desired organic in dissolved form by pervaporation. This variation of the process would be useful, for example, where the original feedstream contains a quantity of organic above the solubility limit. The decantation step could produce an essentially pure organic product, and a second stream containing dissolved organic. The pervaporation step would then be used to generate a permeate stream with excess organic that could be fed back to the decanter, and a reject stream for discharge or final polishing.

For handling streams containing multiple organic components, at least one poorly water-soluble component and one more hydrophilic component, we have discovered that it is advantageous to use two separate decanters before and after the pervaporation system.

The permselective membranes used in the invention may be homogeneous membranes, asymmetric membranes, composite structures, or any form of separation membrane known in the art. They should be selectively permeable to organic liquids, with a high flux for the permeating component. To achieve a high flux, it is desirable to make the permselective membrane layer very thin. A preferred embodiment of the invention involves the use of a composite membrane comprising a microporous support, onto which the permselective layer is deposited as an ultrathin coating. The preparation of such membranes is known in the art. The membrane configuration is not critical to the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the membranes are cast and coated as flat sheets, and then rolled into spiral-wound modules. However, other types of configuration, such as hollow fibers, plate-and-frame, or flat sheet membranes are also possible and are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

Transport through the membrane is induced by maintaining the vapor pressure on the permeate side of the membrane lower than the vapor pressure of the feed liquid. This vapor pressure difference may be achieved by cooling and condensing the permeate vapor, for example. The pervaporation process should be designed so that the proportions of organic and water, for example, in the permeate vapor are such that, on condensation, the amount of organic present in the permeate is greater than can be dissolved in the water. The condensate then forms a liquid mixture or dispersion, which can be passed to a decanter operating in batch or continuous mode for phase separation. The high purity organic phase from the decanter can be reused. The aqueous phase, typically saturated with organic, can be fed back to the feed side of the pervaporation unit.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process for efficiently removing organic contaminants from aqueous streams.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process for efficiently recovering organic compounds from aqueous streams.

It is an object of the invention to provide for efficiently separating mixed organic liquid streams.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process for treating aqueous streams containing 0.1% to 5-10% organic liquids at their source point.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process that can treat aqueous streams containing 0.1% to 5-10% organic liquids without the need for predilution or concentration of the feedstream.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process that can yield a high-purity organic product.

It is an object of the invention to provide a process that can remove at least 90% of the organic content of an aqueous stream.

It is an object of the invention to provide a combined pervaporation/decantation process.

It is an object of the invention to provide combined decantation/pervaporation processes to handle streams containing multiple organic components of different properties.

It is an object of the invention to provide a decantation/pervaporation/decantation system and process for separating liquid streams containing an organic component.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art.

It is to be understood that the above summary and the following detailed description are intended to explain and illustrate the invention without restricting its scope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic showing a basic embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic showing an embodiment of the invention incorporating a two-stage membrane unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic showing an embodiment of the invention incorporating a two-step membrane unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic showing an embodiment of the invention incorporating multiple condensers before the decanter.

FIG. 5 is a schematic showing an embodiment of the invention in which the decantation step is followed by the pervaporation step.

FIG. 6 is a graph of benzene concentration in the feedstream as a function of time for pervaporation experiments in which the feed was continuously circulated, using membrane modules containing (a) • high-flux membranes and (b) ∘ high-selectivity membranes.

FIG. 7 is a graph of benzene concentration in the permeate stream as a function of benzene concentration in the feedstream for pervaporation experiments in which the feed was continuously circulated, using membrane modules containing (a) • high-flux membranes and (b) ∘ high-selectivity membranes.

FIG. 8 is a graph of organic concentration in the permeate stream as a function of organic concentration in the feedstream for a series of pervaporation experiments.

FIG. 9 is a typical phase diagram for a water/Table A compound /Table B compound system.

FIG. 10 is a schematic showing an embodiment of the invention having a decantation step, a pervaporation step and a second decantation step.

FIG. 11 is a graph of normalized feed concentration as a function of stage cut for feed streams containing acetone and methylene chloride in water.

FIG. 12 is a graph of total permeate flux against permeate concentration for two types of membrane.

FIG. 13 is a phase diagram for the water/acetone/methylene chloride system.

FIG. 14 is a schematic showing an embodiment of the invention having a decantation step followed by a pervaporation step.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The term vapor as used herein refers to organic compounds in the gaseous phase below their critical temperatures.

The term permselective as used herein refers to polymers, or membranes made from those polymers, that exhibit selective permeation for at least one component of a feed liquid over the other components of the feed liquid, enabling a measure of separation between the components to be achieved.

The term selectivity as used herein means the ratio of membrane permeability for one component over another.

The term multilayer as used herein means comprising a support membrane and one or more coating layers.

The term decantation as used herein means gravity-driven phase separation of a liquid having an aqueous phase and a non-dissolved organic phase, including gravity-assisted techniques such as centrifugal separation, impaction, coalescing and flotation.

The term decanter as used herein means a vessel in which gravity-driven phase separation of a liquid mixture occurs.

The feedstreams that can be treated by the process of the present invention may arise from a variety of sources. Industrial effluent streams contaminated with hazardous and toxic organic chemicals are prime candidates for treatment. Wastewaters from food or beverage processing, containing alcohols, flavor essences or other organic components could also be treated to recover the organics. Internal industrial process streams, containing solvents, process reaction products or the like could also be treated. The scope of the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular streams, but to encompass any situation where a stream containing dissolved organic chemicals is found. Streams containing a few ppm organic can be treated, as can those that contain the organic in concentrations well above the solubility limit in the solvent in question. Representative organic materials that may be separated from the feedstream by the process of the invention include, but are not limited to, phenols, toluenes, benzenes, xylenes, cresols, esters, such as ethyl acetate or butyl acetate, chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, trichloroethane, chlorinated fluorocarbons, ketones, such as methyl ethyl ketone, alcohols, such as butanol, hexanol or octanol, naphthas and aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as hexane, octane or decane, or terpenes, such as those found in various wood product streams.

The invention is a separation process involving both pervaporation and decantation. The pervaporation step is used to produce a stream sufficiently concentrated in the organic to be separated by decantation.

Alternatively, the decantation step can be carried out first, and the waste stream from the decanter can be treated by pervaporation. Pervaporation is a low-pressure membrane process that can be used to separate components of differing volatilities from solutions. A permselective membrane performs the separation. The membranes for use in the process of the invention should be selectively permeable to organics over water, or to the organic to be separated over other organics. Some membrane materials, particularly rubbery polymers, possess an intrinsically high selectivity for organic solvents over water and can therefore be used in the pervaporation step of the invention. Preferred permselective membrane materials include rubbery non-crystalline polymers, with glass transition temperatures below the normal operating temperature of the system. Thermoplastic elastomers are also useful. These polymers combine hard and soft segments or domains in the polymer structure. Provided the soft segments are rubbery at the temperature and operating conditions of the invention, polymers of this type could make suitable membranes for use in the invention. Polymers that may be used include, but are not limited to, nitrile rubber, neoprene, polydimethylsiloxane (silicone rubber), chlorosulfonated polyethylene, polysilicone-carbonate copolymers, fluororelastomers, plasticized polyvinylchloride, polyurethane, cis-polybutadiene, cis-polyisoprene, poly(butene-1), polystyrene-butadiene copolymers, styrene/butadiene/styrene block copolymers, styrene/ethylene/butylene block copolymers, thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers, polyesteramides, and block copolymers of polyethers and polyesters. Most preferred membrane materials are polystyrene-butadiene block copolymers or silicone rubbers. The membrane may take the form of a homogeneous membrane, an asymmetric membrane, a multilayer composite membrane, a matrix incorporating a gel or liquid layer, or any other form known in the art. A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention employs a multilayer membrane comprising a microporous support onto which is coated the ultrathin permselective layer. The microporous support membrane should have a flow resistance that is very small compared to the permselective layer. Preferably the pores in the skin layer should be less than 1 micron in diameter, to enable it to be coated with a defect-free permselective layer. A preferred support membrane is an asymmetric Loeb-Sourirajan type membrane, which consists of a relatively open, porous substrate with a thin, dense, finely porous skin layer. The support membrane should resist the solvents used in applying the permselective layer. Polymers that may be used to make the microporous support membrane include, for example, polysulfone, polyimide, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyamides, polypropylene or polytetrafluoroethylene. Other polymers suitable for making support membranes are listed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,463, column 21, lines 8 through 23, incorporated herein by reference. Commercially available asymmetric ultrafiltration membranes, for example, NTU® 4220 (crosslinked polyimide), or NTU® 3050 (polysulfone) from Nitto Electric Industrial Company, Osaka, Japan, could also be used as the support membrane. The thickness is not critical, since the permeability of the support is high compared to that of the permselective layer. A typical support would have a thickness in the range about 100 to 300 microns.

Optionally, the support membrane may be reinforced by casting it on a fabric web. The multilayer membrane then comprises the web, the microporous membrane, and the ultrathin permselective membrane. The web material may be, for example, a polyester such as Hollytex, available from Eaton-Dikeman, Mt. Holly Springs, Pa. The permselective layer could not be cast directly on the fabric web, because it would penetrate the web material, rather than forming an unbroken surface coating.

The preparation of membranes having a microporous support is described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,983, incorporated herein by reference. Typically, the membranes are prepared in two steps. To form the microporous support membrane, a casting solution, consisting of a polymer solution dissolved in a water-miscible solvent, is doctored onto the moving web. The belt passes into a water bath which precipitates the polymer to form the microporous membrane. The belt is then collected on a take-up roll, after which the membrane is washed to remove any remaining solvent, dried to form the membrane, and wound up on a roll. In a second step, the microporous membrane from the feed roll passes through a dip-coating station, then a drying oven and is wound up on a product roll. The dip-coating tank contains a dilute solution of the polymer and coats the traveling microporous membrane with a liquid layer, 50- to 100 μm thick. After evaporation of the solvent, a very thin polymer film is left on the membrane.

The membrane is incorporated into membrane modules, which are the key elements of the pervaporation system. The membrane configuration is not critical to the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the membranes are cast and coated as flat sheets, as described above, and then rolled into spiral-wound modules. However, other types of configuration, such as hollow fibers, plate-and-frame, or flat sheet membranes are also possible and are intended to be within the scope of the invention. The preparation of spiral-wound modules is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,616, incorporated herein by reference. The preparation of hollow-fiber membranes and modules is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,798,185 to Skiens and 4,230,463 to Henis et al.

In the pervaporation step, the feedstream is introduced into an array of one or more membrane modules. Organic components and some water pass through the membrane as vapors. Transport through the membrane is induced by maintaining the vapor pressure on the permeate side of the membrane lower than the vapor pressure of the feed liquid. On the feed side of the membrane, the partial vapor pressure of any component will be the partial pressure of the vapor in equilibrium with the feed solution. Changing the hydrostatic pressure of the feed solution thus has a negligible effect on transmembrane flux or selectivity. On the other hand, changing the permeate pressure has a major effect on flux. The vapor pressure on the permeate side can be reduced in several ways, for example, by drawing a vacuum on the permeate side of the membrane, by sweeping the permeate side to continuously remove permeating vapor, or by cooling the permeate vapor stream to induce condensation. The feed solution may also be heated. In this process, sometimes called thermopervaporation, the driving force is the difference in vapor pressure between the hot feed solution and the cold permeate liquid. In the context of the present invention, the most simple and convenient method is cooling and condensation, because the permeate has to be condensed before passing to the decanter in any case. The process in a basic embodiment is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1. Referring now to this figure, feedstream, 1, comprising an organic solvent in water, is brought into contact with membrane unit, 2. Organic solvent and water vapor permeate the membrane, the organic solvent permeating preferentially. The non-permeating portion of the feedstream is removed as a liquid residue stream, 3. The non-permeating liquid residue has a lower organic content than the feed. Typically the pervaporation process should remove 80-90% of the organic content of the feed, and most preferably 95% or more. The permeate vapor stream, 4, should contain organic and water in proportions such that, after condensation, there is more organic present than can be dissolved in the water. Most preferably the organic content of the condensed permeate vapor should be at least 50% greater than can be dissolved under the operating conditions of the system. The permeate vapor is cooled in condenser, 5. The condenser may be operated by using cooling water available on site, or may have a built-in chiller. The non-condensed fraction, 6, of the permeate vapor, comprised of non-condensable gases such as oxygen or nitrogen, that may have been present in the feed, is removed by a small vacuum pump, 7. The condensed permeate liquid, 8, comprises two phases, formed as a result of the mutual solubilities of the aqueous and organic components: an aqueous phase that would normally be saturated with organic, and an organic phase that is essentially pure, containing only some dissolved water. The two-phase permeate liquid mixture passes to a decanter, 9, for phase separation. The decanter may take the form of a horizontal or vertical settling vessel, a trough separator, or a vessel with internal fins, plates or other structure to encourage phase separation. Design and operation of decanters is well known in the art. A number of decanter types, and the design and operating parameters that must be taken into account in their selection and use, are discussed, for example, in Handbook of Separation Process Technology, R. W. Rousseau (Ed.), pages 148-157, which are incorporated herein by reference. Decantation can be carried out in batch mode or in continuous mode. Batch mode operation is simpler, because problems brought about by turbulence in the vessel are avoided. The settling time, t, in the vessel is given by H/U_(t), where H is the farthest distance that a droplet of the dispersed phase must travel to reach the phase interface, and U_(t) is the Stokes Law settling velocity, which depends on the drop size, densities and viscosities of the phases. However, a single vessel operating in batch mode is only appropriate if the pervaporation process is also performed non-continuously. If the pervaporation step is continuous, then the permeate liquid stream may be switched between multiple decanters, where it is left to settle and drawn off after an appropriate time, or the decanter may be run continuously. For continuous operation, the overflow rate, vessel shape, and feed and outlet geometries should be designed to minimize turbulence or entrainment of the light phase into the heavy phase at the phase interface. The Rousseau reference cited above discusses these issues in detail. The organic phase, 11, withdrawn from the decanter has a purity greater than 90%, preferably greater than 95%, and most preferably greater than 98%. The aqueous phase, 10, saturated with organic, may conveniently, although not necessarily, be mixed with the incoming feedstream to the system and reprocessed through the pervaporation unit. The basic embodiment of FIG. 1 is especially appropriate for handling streams where the organic component is a hydrophobic, sparingly water-soluble substance, and the other phase is aqueous. In this case, very high membrane selectivities are possible. For example, a concentration of 50-200 fold or above can be obtained by pervaporation for solvents such as benzene or 1,1,2-trichloroethane. Not only are the membrane selectivities high, but the high concentration of organic in the permeate, the low solubility, and the difference in properties of the two liquids, facilitates the decantation step.

It will be appreciated that in practice the system design will depend on the volume of feed to be treated, the concentration of organic in the feed, the percentage of organic recovery required and the flux and selectivity of the modules. For example, in applications where feedstreams with very dilute concentrations of organic are to be treated, and where maximum organic recovery is imperative, modules having high selectivity but relatively low flux may be best. Where large volumes of waste are to be processed, but a lesser degree of retentate purity is acceptable, high-flux, moderate selectivity modules may be preferred. The membrane area, and hence the number of modules in the system, will also vary widely. For instance, a small-scale unit designed to treat a feed flow of 10 L/min or less, containing a few percent organic, with 90% organic recovery, could operate with one spiral-wound module having a membrane area of about 5-6 m². A commercial plant capable of handling 100,000 gallons of feed per day, and reducing the organic concentration in the residue from 0.1% to 0.01%, may demand a membrane area of 300-400 m², or 60 or more 6-m² modules. The scope of the invention should not be understood as limited to any particular type or number of modules, or other system components, as the design details of the process as carried out for any particular application will be tailored to suit that application.

There will be cases where the permeate from a single pervaporation step is unsuitable for decantation, because the ratio of organic to water is low, or because the organic is relatively soluble in water, for example. An alternative embodiment, involving a two-stage pervaporation process, may then be used, in which the permeate from the first stage becomes the feed to the second stage. If the enrichment of each stage is 20 fold, for example, then the overall enrichment with both stages is approximately 400 fold. The feedstream to the second stage is very much smaller than the feed to the first, so the second stage is typically only 10-20% as large as the first stage. An example of this type of two-stage process is shown in FIG. 2. Referring to this figure, feedstream, 101, comprising an organic solvent in water, is brought into contact with membrane unit, 102. Organic solvent and water vapor permeate the membrane, the organic solvent permeating preferentially. The non-permeating portion of the feedstream is removed as a liquid residue stream, 103. The non-permeating liquid residue has a lower organic content than the feed. Typically the pervaporation process should remove 80-90% of the organic content of the feed, and most preferably 95% or more. The first permeate vapor stream, 104, is passed to condenser 105 to form first permeate liquid stream, 108. As in FIG. 1, the non-condensed fraction, 106, of the permeate vapor is removed by a small vacuum pump, 107. The first permeate liquid, 108, contains insufficient organic for decantation, and is passed instead to second membrane unit, 112. The membranes and modules used in the second membrane unit are conveniently, although not necessarily, of the same materials and configuration as those used in the first membrane unit. The second membrane unit has to deal only with the permeate stream from the first unit. Therefore the volume of the second-stage feed is substantially less than the volume of the first-stage feed, so that the membrane area required in the second stage is normally less than that required in the first. In general, the total membrane area of the second stage will be 25% or less than that of the first stage. The organic component of stream 108 again permeates the membrane preferentially to yield a second permeate vapor, 114, which passes through a second condenser, 115, to produce a second permeate liquid, 118. The non-permeating portion, 113, of stream 108 may be recycled to the feed to the first membrane unit. The second permeate liquid is passed to decanter, 109, where it is separated into organic stream, 111, and aqueous stream, 110. The non-condensable fraction, 116, from the second condenser is withdrawn through vacuum pump, 117. The aqueous stream, 110, from the decanter may conveniently, although not necessarily, be recycled, mixed with the first permeate liquid, and reprocessed through the second membrane unit.

A second alternative embodiment may be used when a single pervaporation step produces a residue stream that requires a higher degree of organic removal than can be obtained in a single pass system. A two-step process, in which the residue from the first step is subjected to further treatment, can then be employed. Organic removals of 95-99% are easily achieved, while the concentration of the permeate stream is maintained. The second step required to reduce the feed concentration from say 10% to 1% of the initial value is as large as the first step required to reduce the feed concentration from say 100% to 10% of the initial value. Such a system is shown in FIG. 3. Referring now to this figure, feedstream, 201, comprising an organic solvent in water, is brought into contact with membrane unit, 202. Organic solvent and water vapor permeate the membrane, the organic solvent permeating preferentially. The permeate vapor stream, 204, is cooled in condenser, 205. The non-condensed fraction, 206, of the permeate vapor is removed by vacuum pump, 207. As in FIGS. 1 and 2, the condensed permeate liquid, 208, comprises aqueous and organic phases, which are separated in decanter, 209, and withdrawn as an essentially pure organic stream, 211, and an aqueous stream, 210, which may be returned to the feed side of the first membrane unit. The non-permeating portion of the feedstream, 203, has a lower, but insufficiently low, organic concentration than the feed. Stream 203 is therefore passed to a second membrane unit, 212. The membranes and modules used in the second membrane unit are conveniently, although not necessarily, of the same materials and configuration as those used in the first membrane unit, and the membrane area will be close to the membrane area of the first unit. The organic component of stream 203 again permeates the membrane preferentially to yield a second permeate vapor, 214, which passes through a second condenser, 215, to produce a second permeate liquid, 218. Non-condensed gases, 216, are removed through vacuum pump, 217. Because stream 203 contains substantially less organic than feedstream 201, the second permeate liquid stream, 218, will also contain proportionately less organic, and typically, although not necessarily, will contain too little organic for decantation. Stream 218 may therefore be fed back and mixed with the feedstream entering the first membrane unit. The non-permeating portion, 213, from the second membrane unit preferably has been depleted of organic by at least 95% compared with feedstream 201, and may be discharged or sent to a final polishing step.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that embodiments such as those of FIGS. 2 and 3 may be combined, so that both the residue and the permeate stream from the first membrane unit are subjected to further pervaporation steps. The resulting residue and permeate streams may be recycled and reprocessed as necessary.

The embodiments of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 may also involve the use of more than one condenser to handle the permeate vapor stream that is to be passed to the decanter. Such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 4. Referring now to this figure, feedstream, 301, contacts membrane unit, 302. The non-permeating portion of the feedstream is removed as a liquid residue stream, 303. The permeate vapor stream, 304, is concentrated in organic, but the composition is such that only a single phase will be present after condensation. The permeate vapor is cooled in condenser, 305, operating at such a temperature that most of the water component of the vapor will condense preferentially, along with some of the organic, to form a liquid aqueous stream, 313, containing a portion of the organic. This stream can be recycled to the feed side of the membrane. The non-condensed stream, 306, which contains most of the organic that permeated the membrane, and is thus concentrated several-fold compared with the permeate vapor stream, is passed to a second condenser, 312, at a different temperature from the first, to yield a condensed permeate liquid, 308. The composition of this liquid is such that it forms two phases. The condensed liquid is separated as before in decanter, 309, to form organic phase, 311, and aqueous phase, 310. The aqueous phase can be combined with the condensate from condenser 305 and returned to the feed side of the membrane. The non-condensed fraction, 314, from the second condenser is removed through vacuum pump, 307.

In all the above representative embodiments, processes have been described in which the pervaporation step is performed first. This will be the preferred scenario where the feedstream to be treated by the hybrid process contains the two components to be separated in such proportions that the minor component is fully dissolved in the major component. If the feedstream contains the minor component in amounts significantly above the solubility limit, then the hybrid process can be carried out by performing the decantation step first, then feeding the aqueous phase from the decanter to a pervaporation unit. Such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 5. Referring now to this figure, feedstream, 401, enters decanter, 402, where it is phase separated to produce an organic product phase, 403, and an aqueous phase containing dissolved organic, 404. Stream 404 then passes to the membrane unit, 405, where it is treated by pervaporation. The non-permeating aqueous portion of the stream is removed as liquid residue stream, 406. The permeate vapor stream, 407, is condensed in condenser, 408, to produce a liquid stream, 409, sufficiently enriched in organic that it can be fed back to the decanter for phase separation. As before, any non-condensed gases, 410, are removed from the condenser through vacuum pump, 411. As with the embodiments in which the pervaporation step is performed first, multistage and/or multistep pervaporation units may be used, and the condensation step may be carried out using more than one condenser at different temperatures.

The choice as to whether to carry out the decantation step or the pervaporation step first can be made on the basis of the composition of the stream to be treated. Obviously, if the stream is a single-phase solution, the pervaporation treatment must precede decantation. If the feed is a two-phase mixture, then decantation can be used to perform the gross separation, followed by pervaporation to remove that portion of one phase that is dissolved in the other. In either case, using embodiments such as the representative ones described above, the hybrid pervaporation/decantation process can be designed to produce only two outlet streams: an aqueous stream with a very small residual organic content, and a high-purity organic stream that may be recovered and reused.

The hybrid pervaporation/decantation process of the invention can be used to handle a broad range of aqueous streams with an organic content from very dilute (100 ppm or less) to very concentrated (50+% organic). The organic phase may be initially completely dissolved in the aqueous phase, or the initial feedstream may be a two-phase mixture. From an economic point of view, the new process can be most competitive with conventional technologies where the organic content renders the stream too concentrated for carbon adsorption or biological treatment, and too dilute for incineration. The preferred minimum organic concentration is above about 0.001%, more preferably above about 0.01%, and most preferably above about 0.1%. The preferred maximum concentration is below about 20%, more preferably below about 15%, and most preferably below about 10%. After treatment, the degree of organic removal from the feedstream should preferably be not less than 80%, more preferably not less than 90%, and most preferably not less than 95%. The concentration of organic in the organic-rich phase from the decanter should preferably be not less than 90%, more preferably not less than 95%, and most preferably not less than 98%. The invention is particularly useful as a method of treating aqueous streams containing organic components that are sparingly soluble in water. Preferably the solubility of the organic component in water should be less than 20%, and most preferably less than 5%.

The process of the invention can also be used to handle organic mixtures, such as those containing phenols, toluenes, benzenes, xylenes, cresols, esters, such as ethyl acetate or butyl acetate, chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene, trichloroethane, chlorinated fluorocarbons, ketones, such as methyl ethyl ketone, alcohols, such as butanol, hexanol or octanol, naphthas and aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as hexane, octane or decane, or terpenes, such as those found in various wood product streams. The pervaporation step is particularly useful in separating azeotropic or closely-boiling organic mixtures.

FIG. 5 showed a process in which the decantation step is performed first, the aqueous phase from the decanter is subjected to a pervaporation step and the organic-enriched permeate is returned to the decanter. Such a process is preferred if the feed to be treated contains two components, for example methylene chloride and water, and the methylene chloride is present in amounts significantly above its solubility in water, that is greater than about 2%. However, many industrial waste streams contain not one organic component, but a mixture of organic components, of considerably different solubilities in water. Examples of such streams include those containing any of the compounds in Table A, a representative, not exclusive, list of poorly water soluble compounds, with any of the compounds in Table B, a representative list of generally less volatile, more hydrophilic, compounds.

                  TABLE A                                                          ______________________________________                                         Representative poorly water-soluble organic compounds                                            Solubility in water                                          Compound          (mg/L at 20-25° C.)                                   ______________________________________                                         Acrylonitrile     1,780                                                        Benzene                                                                        Toluene           515                                                          Ethylbenzene      152                                                          Carbon tetrachloride                                                                             800                                                          Chlorobenzene     500                                                          1,2-Dichloroethane                                                                               4,400                                                        1,1,1-Trichloroethane                                                          1,1-Dichloroethane                                                                               3,200                                                        1,1-Dichloroethylene                                                           1,1,2-Trichloroethane                                                                            4,500                                                        1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane                                                                        2,900                                                        Chloroethane      8,000                                                        2-Chloroethyl vinyl ether                                                      Chloroform                                                                     1,2-Dichloropropane                                                                              2,700                                                        1,3-Dichloropropane                                                                              2,700                                                        Methylene chloride                                                                               20,000                                                       Methyl chloride   6,000                                                        Methyl bromide    900                                                          Bromoform         3,190                                                        Dichlorobromomethane                                                                             1,100                                                        Trichlorofluoromethane                                                         Dichlorodifluoromethane                                                                          280                                                          Chlorodibromomethane                                                                             150                                                          Tetrachloroethylene                                                            Trichloroethylene 1,100                                                        Vinyl chloride    1                                                            trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene                                                                       600                                                          bis(chloromethyl)Ether                                                                           22,000                                                       Ethylene chloride 8,690                                                        Xylene            175                                                          Aniline           34,000                                                       Cyclohexane       55                                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE B                                                          ______________________________________                                         Representative less hydrophobic compounds                                                          Solubility in water                                        Compound            (wt % at 20-25° C.)                                 ______________________________________                                         Acetone             Miscible                                                   Acrolein            28                                                         Ethyl acetate        8                                                         Ethanol             Miscible                                                   Methanol            Miscible                                                   Isopropanol         Miscible                                                   Butanol              9                                                         Phenol               8                                                         Methyl ethyl ketone 28                                                         Furfural             8                                                         Tetrahydrofuran     Miscible                                                   Acetonitrile        Miscible                                                   Dioxane             Miscible                                                   ______________________________________                                    

If a stream that contains, for example, water, more than can be dissolved of a Table A compound, and a Table B compound, is subjected to decantation, the result will be an organic liquid phase, containing the Table A compound and an aqueous liquid phase, saturated with the Table A compound. The Table B compound will be divided between the organic and aqueous phases according to the relative partition coefficients and the volumes of the two phases. The compositions of the phases can be determined by means of a phase diagram. FIG. 9 shows a typical phase diagram for a water/Table A compound/Table B compound system. Area Y indicates the limited area where the system can exist as a single, homogeneous solution. Area Z is the two-phase region. For example, a stream of composition X can be decanted into an organic phase of composition X_(o) and an aqueous phase of composition X_(a).

When the aqueous phase is subjected to pervaporation, an organic-enriched permeate is produced. According to the scheme of FIG. 5, this would be fed back to the decanter. The presence of the Table B compound, however, may make this undesirable. The permeate from the membrane unit typically has a much higher content of the Table B compound than the incoming stream to the decanter. Mixing this permeate into the decanter will cause more of the Table A component to be retained in the aqueous phase. A more efficient separation, with a smaller recycle of both the Table A and Table B compounds through the membrane unit, can be achieved by using a second, separate decantation step after the pervaporation step. Such a scheme is shown in FIG. 10. Referring now to this figure, feedstream, 501, enters decanter, 502, where it is separated to produce an organic stream, 503, and an aqueous stream containing dissolved organic, 504. Stream 504 then passes to the membrane unit, 505, where it is treated by pervaporation. The non-permeating aqueous portion of the stream is removed as liquid residue stream, 506. The permeate vapor stream, 507, is condensed in condenser, 508, to produce a liquid stream, 509, sufficiently enriched in organic that it will phase separate. This stream is fed to second decanter 510. Organic stream 512 is withdrawn from the decanter. Aqueous stream 511 is passed to the feed side of the pervaporation unit for further treatment.

The ratio between the solubilities of the two organic components should preferably be at least 5, more preferably at least 10 and most preferably at least 20. It will be apparent that, depending on the mixture, a compound could be either the more or the less soluble component. For example, a compound having a solubility in water of about 3% will be the less soluble component when mixed with a compound that is freely miscuble in water, but the more soluble when mixed with a compound having a solubility of 0.1% or less. In general, by poorly soluble, we mean having a solubility less than 5%, and more commonly less than 2% or less than 1%. By more hydrophilic, we mean, in general, having a solubility greater than about 2%, more generally greater than about 5%, or 10% or being freely miscible in water, although it will be appreciated that the ratio between the solubilities is more important than their absolute value.

In FIG. 10, two organic streams are produced. As an alternative, streams 503 and 509 could be mixed and fed together to the second decanter. As with the embodiments in which the pervaporation step is performed first, multistage and/or multistep pervaporation units may be used, and the condensation step may be carried out using more than one condenser at different temperatures.

The invention is now further illustrated by the following examples, which are intended to be illustrative of the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope or underlying principles of the invention in any way.

EXAMPLES EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

A bench-top pervaporation unit was used to evaluate the removal of dissolved organic compounds from aqueous streams. The unit had a 10 gallon feed tank with a heater, from which the feedstream was pumped by a centrifugal pump through a single spiral-wound module. The module contained a thin-film composite membrane with a membrane area of 0.18 m². The residue stream from the module was returned to the feed tank. The permeate vapor was passed to a condenser vessel cooled with liquid nitrogen to trap the water and solvent vapors. The system incorporated two traps, so that the permeate stream could be switched from one to the other to allow the permeate stream to be sampled periodically without interrupting operation of the unit. Non-condensable gases were withdrawn through a rotary vane vacuum pump and vented. The condensed permeate was drawn off and left to settle.

EXAMPLE 1.

A sample from a decanter in a benzene plant was run through the bench-top unit. The operating conditions were as follows:

Sample volume: 22.7 L

Sample content: Benzene: 30-32 mL

Feed temperature: 40° C.

Feed flow: 6 L/min

Permeate pressure: 15 mmHg

The feed volume was circulated continuously and feed and permeate samples were taken every hour. Feed and permeate samples were analyzed using a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector. One-μL samples of the feed and permeate streams were injected into a 10% SP-1000, 80/100 Carbopack, 6-ft×18-in column (Supelco, Bellefonte, Pa.) at a column operating temperature of 220° C. The chromatogram showed a small peak as the sample was injected and a peak for the benzene two minutes later. No peaks were measured for any other components in the sample since they were present in very low concentrations.

Table 1 shows the permeate fluxes, and the total concentration of benzene in the permeate vapor before condensation. As shown, the benzene was very dramatically enriched in the permeate, producing streams 100 to 500 times more concentrated than the feed. The condensed permeate settled within a few minutes into two phases, the top layer containing nearly pure benzene, the bottom layer consisting of a saturated benzene solution. The weights of these two phases are also shown in Table 1.

                                      TABLE 1                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Permeate Composition and Permeate Flux Data                                    from Benzene Separation Pervaporation Experiments                                 Total Permeate                                                                         Permeate                                                                               Permeate                                                                               Total Weight of                                                                         Permeate                                   Time                                                                              Benzene Conc.                                                                          Benzene Phase                                                                          Aqueous Phase                                                                          Permeate Sample                                                                         Flux                                       (h)                                                                               (%)     (mL)    (mL)    (g)      (kg/m.sup.2 · h)                  __________________________________________________________________________     1  17.2    26      112     135      0.75                                       2  4.3     5       102     104      0.58                                       3  1.0     2       101     102      0.57                                       4  0.2      --*    102     101      0.56                                       __________________________________________________________________________      *This sample contained only one phase.                                   

The feed concentration of the benzene as a function of time is shown in FIG. 6. As can be seen, over 90% of the benzene was removed from the feed solution in less than two hours, with 99% removal in four hours. The membrane selectivity can be judged by plotting the concentration in the feed solution against the concentration in the permeate vapor before condensation. This plot is shown in FIG. 7. As can be seen, enrichments of 70-230 fold between the feed and the permeate were obtained. When drawn off and left to separate, all permeate samples except the last separated into two phases, an organic phase containing pure benzene and an aqueous phase of benzene-saturated water that was recycled to the feed tank.

EXAMPLE 2.

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated. The sample used had the same volume and composition, and the experimental set-up was the same, except that a module with higher selectivity, but lower flux, was used. Because the flux was lower, permeate samples were taken two-hourly instead of hourly. The results are summarized in Table 2.

                                      TABLE 2                                      __________________________________________________________________________     Permeate Composition and Permeate Flux Data                                    from Benzene Separation Pervaporation Experiments                                 Total Permeate                                                                         Permeate                                                                               Permeate                                                                               Total Weight of                                                                         Permeate                                   Time                                                                              Benzene Conc.                                                                          Benzene Phase                                                                          Aqueous Phase                                                                          Permeate Sample                                                                         Flux                                       (h)                                                                               (%)     (mL)    (mL)    (g)      (kg/m.sup.2 · h)                  __________________________________________________________________________     2  45.4    27      29      53       0.15                                       4  6.7     1.8     23      24       0.068                                      6  2.7     0.5     23      23       0.063                                      __________________________________________________________________________

The feed concentration of the benzene as a function of time is shown by the open circles in FIG. 6. The permeate concentration versus feed concentration is shown in FIG. 7. Enrichments of 500-1,000 fold between the feed and the permeate were obtained. When drawn off and left to separate, all permeate samples yielded two phases, an organic phase containing pure benzene and an aqueous phase of benzene-saturated water that was recycled to the feed tank.

EXAMPLE 3

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated with a solution of ethanol in water. The results are summarized in the lowest curve of FIG. 8. The membrane selectivity measured was up to about 5. The permeate was a more concentrated solution of alcohol in water. The permeate from this single-stage experiment was unsuitable for decantation.

EXAMPLE 4

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated with a solution of acetone in water. The results are summarized in the second lowest curve of FIG. 8. The membrane selectivity measured was up to about 30. The permeate was a more concentrated solution of acetone in water. As in Example 3, the permeate was a single phase solution unsuitable for decantation.

EXAMPLE 5

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated with a solution of ethyl acetate in water. The results are summarized in the middle curve of FIG. 8. The membrane selectivity measured was up to about 55. The solubility of ethyl acetate in water at ambient temperatures is about 8.2%; therefore the permeate forms a two-phase mixture that can be decanted.

EXAMPLE 6

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated with a solution of 1,1,2-trichloroethane in water. The results are summarized in the second highest curve of FIG. 8. The membrane selectivity measured was up to about 235. When drawn off and decanted, the permeate can be separated into a pure 1,1,2-trichloroethane phase and an aqueous phase.

EXAMPLE 7

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated with a solution of chloroform in water. The results are summarized in the highest curve of FIG. 8. The membrane selectivity measured was up to about 250. When drawn off and decanted, the permeate can be phase-separated to yield essentially pure chloroform and an aqueous phase.

EXAMPLE 8

The experiment as in Example 1 was repeated with an effluent sample from apple juice processing. The sample consisted of a portion of the evaporator condensate stream produced during the juice concentration process. The condensate contains essence, the organic components that impart apple flavor and aroma. These components, which consist of a complex mixture of esters, aldehydes, ketones and alcohols, were present at a feed concentration of approximately 1 wt %. The results are summarized in Table 3. Because the exact concentration of the organic components in the feed is not known, all concentrations in the table are expressed as multiples of the feed concentration, which was assumed to be 1%.

                  TABLE 3                                                          ______________________________________                                         Permeate Compositions and Fluxes in Apple Juice Processor's                    Stream Sample Pervaporation Experiments                                        Test conditions:                                                               Permeate pressure: 20 mmHg                                                     Temperature: 40° C.                                                     Membrane area: 1,800 cm.sup.2                                                  All concentrations shown are given as multiples of the                         initial feed concentration, which was approximately 1.0 wt %.                       Permeate  Permeate    Permeate  Total                                          Conc.,    Organic Phase                                                                              Aqueous Phase                                                                            Permeate                                  Time both phases                                                                              Volume      Volume    Flux                                      (h)  (˜ wt %)                                                                           (mL)        (mL)      (kg/m.sup.2 · h)                 ______________________________________                                         1    31        10          120       0.71                                      2    20         2          115       0.64                                      3    15        --          101       0.55                                      4    11        --          106       0.58                                      ______________________________________                                          Initial feed volume, 18.0 liters; initial feed concentration, ˜1.0       wt %. Final feed volume, 17.5 liters; final feed concentration, ˜0.      wt %.                                                                    

As can be seen, the combined pervaporation/decantation process produced a small volume, highly concentrated organic phase that would be suitable for adding back to the apple juice product, or for other use in the flavor and fragrance industries.

EXAMPLE 9

The experiment as in Example 8 was repeated using the same membrane as in Example 2. The results are summarized in Table 4.

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Permeate Compositions and Fluxes in Apple Juice Processor's                    Stream Sample Pervaporation Experiments                                        Test conditions:                                                               Permeate pressure: 20 mmHg                                                     Temperature: 40° C.                                                     Membrane area: 1,800 cm.sup.2                                                  All concentrations shown are given as multiples of the                         initial feed concentration, which was approximately 1.0 wt %.                       Permeate  Permeate    Permeate  Total                                          Conc.,    Organic Phase                                                                              Aqueous Phase                                                                            Permeate                                  Time both phases                                                                              Volume      Volume    Flux                                      (h)  (˜ wt %)                                                                           (mL)        (mL)      (kg/m.sup.2 · h)                 ______________________________________                                         2    27        9           24        0.087                                     6    24        6           45        0.068                                     10   22        1           44        0.059                                     ______________________________________                                          Initial feed volume, 19.5 liters; initial feed concentration, ˜1.0       wt %. Final feed volume, 19.4 liters; final feed concentration, ˜0.      wt %.                                                                    

Both of the membranes removed approximately the same amount of organic solvent from the feedstream in equivalent time periods. However, the permeate produced by the higher selectively membrane was slightly more concentrated.

EXAMPLE 10. ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

Using the experimental data of Examples 1 and 2, an economic analysis of a pervaporation system able to treat a 15,000 gal/day stream was performed. In this analysis the feed concentration was assumed to be 1,300 ppm benzene and the desired residue concentration, 130 ppm. That is, 90% benzene removal is achieved. The temperature of the wastewater was assumed to be 15° C., whereas the modules were assumed to operate at a 60° C. inlet temperature. The pervaporation system design, therefore, would include a heating system to heat the feedstream. However, the bulk of this heat could be recovered by running the hot residue stream (stripped of 90% of the benzene) through a heat exchanger, counter to the incoming cool feed. The process was assumed to be that of FIG. 1, and the compositions of the residue stream, 3, the condensed permeate vapor stream, 8, the aqueous phase, 10, and the organic phase, 11, were calculated by means of a computer program. The calculated system parameters used in the economic calculations are given in Table 5.

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                         System Parameters for Economic                                                 Analysis of Benzene Recovery Process                                                               Flow     Concentration                                     Stream              (gal/day)                                                                               (% Benzene)                                       ______________________________________                                         Feed                15,000   0.13                                              Residue             14,980   <0.01                                             Condensed permeate    180    11.0                                              Aqueous phase from decanter                                                                          160    ˜0.2                                        Organic phase from decanter                                                                           20    >99.0                                             ______________________________________                                          Membrane area required:                                                        Example 1: 60 m.sup.2 -                                                        Example 2: 75 m.sup.2                                                    

The products of the pervaporation/decantation process are, thus, 14,980 gal/day of aqueous solution containing <130 ppm benzene (10% of the original concentration) and 20 gal/day pure benzene.

The capital and operating costs, based on the figures in Table 5, were then calculated and are summarized in Table 6.

                  TABLE 6                                                          ______________________________________                                         Capital and Operating Costs of                                                 Pervaporation/Decantation System for Benzene Recovery                                     Example 1   Example 2                                               ______________________________________                                         CAPITAL COST $150,000.sup.1                                                                               $160,000.sup.1                                      OPERATING COST                                                                 Depreciation +                                                                                24,000        24,000                                            interest at 20%                                                                (excluding modules)                                                            Module Replacement                                                                            12,000        15,000                                            (3-year life)                                                                  Maintenance    7,500         8,000                                             (5% of capital cost)                                                           Energy         21,000        7,000                                             TOTAL         $64,500/yr    $54,000/yr                                         OPERATING COST                                                                               $13/1,000 gal feed                                                                           $11/1,000 gal feed                                 ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 System includes chiller and heater. If cooling water (<10°       C.) is available onsite, the capital cost can be decreased by $10,000.   

The operating cost of the system using the membranes of Example 2 is 1,000 gal feed or $8.20/gal of benzene recovered. The operating costs of a system using the Example 1 membrane are approximately 30% higher. This is mainly because a larger amount of water vapor has to be condensed, increasing the energy requirements of the system.

A substantial credit could be taken in this process for the value of the recovered benzene. In tank car quantities, benzene costs between $4-6/gal. It follows from Table 6 that approximately half of the system's operating costs could be offset by the value of this recovered solvent. This would reduce the total operating costs to $7-9/1,000 gallons of feed, which is extremely competitive with alternative technologies, such as carbon adsorption.

EXAMPLE 11. MIXED FEED STREAMS

A bench-top test loop was used to carry out a pervaporation experiment with a feed stream containing 0.14% methylene chloride and 12% acetone in water. The test loop contained a 2-inch-diameter, spiral-wound module with a membrane area of 0.18 m². A small pump was used to recirculate solution from the feed tank through the test module. A dual-condenser system produced the low pressure required on the permeate side of the membrane and trapped the permeating vapors. The permeate stream could be switched from one condenser system to the other, allowing continuous sampling without interrupting operation of the unit. The system included a small vacuum pump to remove any non-condensable gases that might be present in the permeate stream. The test was conducted at a feed temperature of 50° C. and a permeate pressure of 1 cmHg.

The feed solution circulating through the membrane module continuously changed in composition as organic was removed in the permeate stream. Both the feed and permeate compositions were a function of time, allowing collection of pervaporation separation data over a wide composition range in one single experiment (typically six hours).

The compositions of the feed and permeate samples were analyzed by a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame-ionization detector. The membrane permeation flux was measured by weighing permeate samples collected over a known period of time. The results are given in Table 7.

                  TABLE 7                                                          ______________________________________                                         Performance Data for Pervaporation Membrane Modules                            in Separating Methylene Chloride/Acetone/Water Mixtures                        Feed        Permeate                                                           composition (%)                                                                            composition (%)                                                                               β pervap (-)                                   CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                     Acetone  CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                        Acetone                                                                               CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                     Acetone                                ______________________________________                                         0.14   12       --        --     --     --                                     0.046  9.9      2.4       62     54     15                                     .sup. ND.sup.1                                                                        6.6      0.65      62     --     23                                     ND     4.0       0.020    53     --     27                                     ND     2.5      0.05      39     --     25                                     ND     1.4      ND        28     --     27                                     ND     0.73     ND        18     --     30                                     ND     0.38     ND        11     --     32                                     ND     0.20     ND        6.1    --     33                                     ND     0.11     ND        3.3    --     31                                     ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 ND = not detected                                                 

The separation factor is defined as ##EQU1## where c"_(i) and c'_(i) are the weight concentrations of component i in the feed solution and permeate solution, respectively.

Methylene chloride was removed much more efficiently than acetone from the aqueous feed mixture. It was not always possible to detect methylene chloride in the samples. The methylene chloride peak disappeared into the acetone peak when the methylene chloride concentration was small, especially if the acetone concentration was relatively high. However, it was clear that the feed methylene chloride content is being reduced to very low concentrations, based on the methylene chloride concentration measured in the permeate.

EXAMPLE 12

A bench-top test loop was used to carry out a pervaporation experiment with a feed stream containing 0.8% methylene chloride and 11% acetone in water. The test loop and operating conditions were the same as in Example 11.

The compositions of the feed and permeate samples were analyzed by a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame-ionization detector. The membrane permeation flux was measured by weighing permeate samples collected over a known period of time. The results are given in Table 8. Methylene chloride was again removed much more efficiently than acetone from the aqueous feed mixture.

                  TABLE 8                                                          ______________________________________                                         Performance Data for Pervaporation Membrane Modules                            in Separating Methylene Chloride/Acetone/Water Mixtures                        Feed        Permeate                                                           composition (%)                                                                            composition (%)                                                                               β pervap (-)                                   CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                     Acetone  CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                        Acetone                                                                               CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                     Acetone                                ______________________________________                                         0.80   11       --        --     --     --                                     0.27   8.7      14.sup.2  65.sup.2                                                                               59    19                                     0.039  5.3       4.0      55     106    22                                     0.006  3.4       1.4      46     240    24                                     ND     1.9       0.43     33     --     25                                     ND     1.0       0.13     23     --     29                                     ND     0.57      0.045    15     --     30                                     ND     0.29      0.023     8.6   --     33                                     ND     0.15      0.012     4.8   --     34                                     ND     0.075     0.004     1.3   --     18                                     ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 ND = not detected                                                       .sup.2 Permeate phase separated                                          

EXAMPLE 13

A bench-top test loop was used to carry out a pervaporation experiment with a feed stream containing 0.95% methylene chloride and 4.51% acetone in water. A membrane having a higher organic/water selectivity was substituted in the test loop. Otherwise, the test loop and operating conditions were the same as in Example 11.

The compositions of the feed and permeate samples were analyzed by a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame-ionization detector. The membrane permeation flux was measured by weighing permeate samples collected over a known period of time. The results are given in Table 9.

                  TABLE 9                                                          ______________________________________                                         Performance Data for Pervaporation Membrane Modules                            in Separating Methylene Chloride/Acetone/Water Mixtures                        Feed        Permeate                                                           composition (%)                                                                            composition (%)                                                                               β pervap (-)                                   CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                     Acetone  CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                        Acetone                                                                               CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2                                                                     Acetone                                ______________________________________                                         0.96   4.5      --        --     --     --                                     0.22   4.0      37.sup.2  31.sup.2                                                                              270    11                                     0.022  3.4       6.4.sup.2                                                                               47.sup.2                                                                              310    26                                     0.004  2.9       7.7      42     2,070  29                                     .sup. ND.sup.1                                                                        2.4       1.5      45     --     33                                     ND     1.7       0.71     40     --     39                                     ND     1.2       0.61     33     --     41                                     ND     0.78     ND        25     --     41                                     ______________________________________                                          .sup.1 ND = not detected                                                       .sup.2 Permeate phase separated                                          

EXAMPLE 14

The separation performance of the two types of membrane, A and B, used in Examples 11-13, was compared by calculating the normalized concentrations of methylene chloride and acetone in the feed as a function of stage-cut for both membrane materials. The normalized concentrations were obtained by dividing the actual concentration by the initial concentration at the start of the experiment. The results are plotted in FIG. 11. The data show that both membranes removed methylene chloride more quickly than they remove acetone. The data suggest that the pervaporation process can be used for two levels of separation: (1) the removal of most, that is, 99%, of the methylene chloride present in the aqueous stream while removing only 20 to 30% of the acetone present, or (2) removal of 90 to 99% of the acetone present, while removing virtually all the methylene chloride. Option 1 represents the removal of the most hazardous component from the mixture; Option 2 involves essentially total solvent removal.

EXAMPLE 15

The total transmembrane flux of the two types of membrane, A and B, was compared, using the data shown in Tables 7, 8 and 9. The results are plotted in FIG. 12. The pure water flux of the Membrane B was about one-third that of Membrane A, and the permeate flux of both membranes increased with increasing organic content of the permeate. The advantage of the high-selectivity membrane in separation factor is thus partly negated by a lower permeability.

EXAMPLE 16, PHASE DIAGRAM

A phase diagram for the methylene chloride/acetone/water system was developed. The data were obtained as follows: Six different mixtures of methylene chloride and acetone in water were prepared with a sufficiently high methylene chloride content that each solution separated into two liquid phases: one with low methylene chloride and acetone content (the aqueous phase) and one with high methylene chloride and acetone content (the organic phase). The composition of each phase was determined by gas chromatography. The resulting phase diagram is shown in FIG. 13. Tie lines BC and FG show the compositions of the organic and aqueous phases that were produced with starting mixtures of composition A and E respectively.

EXAMPLE 17, DESIGN FOR DECANTER/PERVAPORATION/DECANTER SYSTEM

The data and results from Examples 11-16 were used to design systems and processes for handling feed streams that will phase separate on settling.

As a representative example, we considered a feed wastewater produced from the steam regeneration of an activated carbon system removing methylene chloride and acetone from air. The activated carbon system was assumed to be of medium size, removing about 1,600,000 lb of organic per year, 800,000 lb per year each of methylene chloride and acetone. At a maximum carbon loading of 8 lb solvent per 100 lb carbon and steam usage of 100 lb steam per 100 lb carbon, the steam regeneration process was calculated to produce a waste stream containing 3.7 wt % methylene chloride and 3.7 wt % acetone in water. The tie-line for a stream of this composition (A) is shown on the phase diagram in FIG. 13. After settling, such a stream will phase split into a small, organic phase of composition B and an aqueous phase of composition C. For a typical waste stream of 50 lb/min, the organic phase will be produced at 1.9 lb/min and the aqueous phase at 48 lb/min.

For the calculations, it was assumed that 99% methylene chloride removal is required, but that a high level of acetone removal is not necessary. Similar calculations could be performed to achieve 90% acetone removal by changing the membrane area and stage cut. Performance calculations were carried out for the process and system shown in FIG. 10. The compositions and flow rates of the various streams are given in Table 10. The performance was calculated based on the experimental data obtained for Membrane B.

                  TABLE 10                                                         ______________________________________                                         Performance of the system and process of FIG. 10 in handling                   an aqueous stream containing methylene chloride and acetone                          CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 content                                                                    Acetone content                                                                             Flow rate                                     Stream                                                                               (%)           (%)          (lb/min)                                      ______________________________________                                         501   3.7           3.7          50                                            503   84            15           1.9                                           504   0.5           3.0          48                                            506   0.005         2.3          47.6                                          509   16            37           1.4                                           511   1.5           26           0.9                                           512   75.4          23.5         2.4                                           ______________________________________                                    

The overall result was calculated to be removal of 99% of the methylene chloride and 38% of the acetone from the original stream. The composition of the residue stream from the pervaporation step is shown by point D of FIG. 13. Stream 511 returns 0.24 lb/min of acetone and 0.015 lb/min of methylene chloride for further separation by the pervaporation unit.

The pervaporation step could be designed to remove 90% of the acetone by increasing the membrane area and stage cut.

EXAMPLE 18 COMPARATIVE DESIGN FOR DECANTATION/PERVAPORATION SYSTEM

As in Example 17, the data and results from Examples 11-16 were used to design systems and processes for handling feed streams that will phase separate on settling. In this case however, a system with only one decanter was used, as shown in FIG. 14. Referring now to this figure, feedstream, 601, enters decanter, 602, where it is separated to produce an organic stream, 603, and an aqueous stream containing dissolved organic, 604. Stream 504 then passes to the membrane unit, 605, where it is treated by pervaporation. The non-permeating aqueous portion of the stream is removed as liquid residue stream, 606. The permeate vapor stream, 607, is condensed in condenser, 608, to produce a liquid stream, 609, sufficiently enriched in organic that it will phase separate. This stream is passed back to the decanter 602.

The same representative stream as in Example 17 was used, namely 50 lb/min, containing 3.7% each of acetone and methylene chloride.

For the calculations, it was assumed as before that 99% methylene chloride removal is required. Calculations were carried out to examine the difference in recycle of methylene chloride and acetone compared with Example 17. The results are given in Table 11. The performance was calculated based on the experimental data obtained for Membrane B.

                  TABLE 11                                                         ______________________________________                                         Performance of the system and process of FIG. 14 in handling                   an aqueous stream containing methylene chloride and acetone                          CH.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 content                                                                    Acetone content                                                                             Flow rate                                     Stream                                                                               (%)           (%)          (lb/min)                                      ______________________________________                                         601   4.04          4.6          51.4                                          603   81            18.2         1.9                                           604   1.0           4.1          49.5                                          609   16            37           1.4                                           ______________________________________                                    

Comparing the organic content of streams 504 and 604, the feeds to the pervaporation step, stream 604 returns an additional 0.84 lb/min of acetone and 0.26 lb/min of methylene chloride for further separation by the pervaporation unit. Comparing these numbers with Example 17, the design of Example 17 returns, via stream 511, 0.24 lb/min of acetone and 0.015 lb/min of methylene chloride for further separation by the pervaporation unit. 

We claim:
 1. A system for separating a feed liquid, said feed liquid comprising three components, said system consisting essentially of a first decanter, a pervaporation unit having a feed side and a permeate side, and a second decanter, said first decanter being connected to said feed side of said pervaporation unit such that said feed liquid passes first through said first decanter, and said second decanter being connected to said permeate side of said pervaporation unit.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said second decanter is additionally connected to said feed side of said pervaporation unit, in such a way that a decanted fraction from said second decanter may be recirculated to said pervaporation unit.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said first decanter is additionally connected to said second decanter, in such a way that both a decanted fraction from said first decanter and said permeate from said pervaporation unit flow into said second decanter.
 4. A process for separating a feed liquid, said feed liquid comprising three components, I, II and III, wherein said components I and II have different solubilities in said component III, said process comprising:a) decanting said feed liquid in a first decanter to produce a first liquid enriched in said component I compared with said feed liquid and having a composition X₁ of said components I, II and III, and a second liquid depleted in said component I compared with said feed liquid and having a composition X₂ of said components I, II and III; b) performing a pervaporation step, said step comprising: i) providing a membrane unit having a feed side and a permeate side; ii) contacting said feed side with said second liquid; iii) withdrawing from said permeate side a permeate vapor enriched in said component I compared with said second liquid; c) condensing said permeate vapor to form a permeate liquid; d) decanting said permeate liquid in a second decanter to produce a third liquid enriched in said component I compared with said permeate liquid and having a composition X₃ of said components I, II and III, and a fourth liquid depleted in said component I compared with said permeate liquid and having a composition X₄ of said components I, II and III; said process characterized in that said composition X₁ is different from said composition X₃ and said composition X₂ is different from said composition X₄.
 5. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I is a halogenated hydrocarbon.
 6. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I is an aromatic hydrocarbon.
 7. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I is chosen from the group consisting of acrylonitrile, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, carbon tetrachloride, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethylene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, chloroethane, 2-chloroethyl vinyl ether, chloroform, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,3-dichloropropane, methylene chloride, methyl chloride, methyl bromide, bromoform, dichlorobromomethane, trichlorofluoromethane, dichlorodifluoromethane, chlorodibromomethane, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, bis(chloromethyl)ether, ethylene chloride, xylene, aniline and cyclohexane.
 8. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II is an alcohol.
 9. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II is a ketone.
 10. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II is chosen from the group consisting of acetone, acrolein, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, butanol, phenol, methyl ethyl ketone, furfural, tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile and dioxane.
 11. The process of claim 4, wherein said component III is water.
 12. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I is chosen from the group consisting of aromatic hydrocarbons and halogenated hydrocarbons, said component II is chosen from the group consisting of ketones, alcohols and esters, and said component III is water.
 13. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I has a solubility in component III at 20° C. less than 5%.
 14. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I has a solubility in component III at 20° C. less than 2%.
 15. The process of claim 4, wherein said component I has a solubility in component III at 20° C. less than 1%.
 16. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II has a solubility in component III at 20° C. greater than 2%.
 17. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II has a solubility in component III at 20° C. greater than 5%.
 18. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II has a solubility in component III at 20° C. greater than 10%.
 19. The process of claim 4, wherein said component II is freely miscible in said component III.
 20. The process of claim 4, wherein the ratio of the solubility of said component II and said component I in said component III is at least
 5. 21. The process of claim 4, wherein the ratio of the solubility of said component II and said component I in said component III is at least
 10. 22. The process of claim 4, wherein the ratio of the solubility of said component II and said component I in said component III is at least
 20. 23. The process of claim 4, wherein element (d) comprises:d) combining said first liquid and said permeate liquid to form a combined liquid and decanting said combined liquid in a second decanter to produce a third liquid enriched in said component I compared with said permeate liquid and having a composition X₃ of said components I, II and III, and a fourth liquid depleted in said component I compared with said permeate liquid and having a composition X₄ of said components I, II and III. 